Great Performances

The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour

Produced at the peak of Beatlemania in 1967, "Magical Mystery Tour" is the least known of the various films starring The Beatles and was never theatrically released or nationally broadcast on U.S. television, only receiving sporadic TV syndication in the 1980s. Receiving mixed reviews but arguably ahead of its time, the mostly improvised and loosely plotted script provides a charming comic showcase for The Fab Four and their idiosyncratic sense of humor, recounting a series of episodic misadventures of John, Paul, George and Ringo on a bus tour with a cast of eccentric characters, including Auntie Jessie, tour director Jolly Jimmy Johnson, tour hostess Miss Wendy Winters and conductor Buster Bloodvessel. Newly restored, the often lavish production numbers feature such now Beatles standards as "Magical Mystery Tour," "The Fool on the Hill," "I Am the Walrus" and "Hello, Goodbye."